Last 2017 all indicators of the rental market had gown significantly and so we thought that 2018 it would be continued but with a moderate growth. We also forecasted
that there would be more offer in the market and that it
would work as a balance but we expect that it is more
likely to happen in 2019.
What is the real situation? This 1st semester of 2018 we
have been surprised by some aspects that have been
anticipated already for a few months and, as usual, Barcelona city anticipates some of the effects that later on
appears in a generalized way in the market. All in all, we
have already reached the maximum of rental incomes
and the offer begins to normalize.

RENT - Contracts and offers
Amat Immobiliaris Data
It we take a look to 1st semester data, we have done a
5% less of contracts than in the same term last year 2017.
In previous years we have always said that the main reason of signing less contracts was due to the lack of offer.
This 2018 we don’t think this way anymore, there are more
important reasons such as, for instance, a feeling of reaching the maximum of rental incomes in some areas, which
has slowed the market.

THE OFFER HAS
BEEN STABLISHED
OR INCREASED IN
ALL OUR OFFICES

properties bought by investors, or the rental properties left
by the buyers who now occupy the new projects. On top
of that the downward repositioning of the rental income of
some properties is added since they were overvalued according to the market prices of 2017.
In Barcelona this analysis is more complex because the
market, either rent and resale, is substantively influenced by
the foreign demand of touristic rental and short term rental.
Due to this situation although being the first market of
being recovered after the crisis, the link between delivering brand new projects and the number of freed properties designated to long term rental is not that direct.
Towards the end of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, we
have detected that in Barcelona a significant number of
properties currently rented in a long term will be free,​​
since their current occupants will occupy new projects
delivered in the first crown of the city, but we do not
have the certainty that it will be designated as a traditional rent.
Apart from the utility and looking at the official statistics
of Sant Cugat del Vallès and Barcelona, ​​the percentage
of new buildings delivered related to the initial housing
census, in Sant Cugat it is 5 times larger than in Barcelona.
If we add a much more determined use, the impact on the
rental market is much more significant.
In Sant Just Desvern and its surroundings has been an
offer improvement although it is slightly below in compared to 2017 related to number of contracts. In this filed we do expect significant changes in 2019 since many
brand new properties will be delivered during the first semester of next year and some significant projects will be
only for rent purpose.

As can be seen in the graphic, we have done lees contracts in our Barcelona and Sant Just Desvern offices whereas in Sant Cugat have been done more. In general, the
offer has been stablished or increased in all our offices.

MANY TENANTS
LEAVE BEFORE
THE CONTRACT
EXPIRATION DATE

ST

Another graphic that shows this trend is the following:
Comparing in New Contracts, Average Offer, Renewals
and Resignations. As can be seen, Renovations continue
to grow but resignations have also grown a lot.

SEMESTER

RENT
Amat Immobiliaris Data

3

2013

2014
BCN

St Cugat
Contracts

2015
St Just

2016
BCN

2017
St Cugat

2018
St Just

In Sant Cugat we already knew that the offer would improve since it was one of the first markets to recover after
the crisis and, therefore, since the beginning of this year
some important new construction projects that where built
two years ago have begun to be delivered. As a result, new
properties have emerged on the rental market either new

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

One fact that is not taken into a count enough is the
large percentage of tenants who leave before the end
of their contract. It would seem logical to think that in
a market with very high prices and little supply, tenants
would fulfill the period established in their contracts. In
fact, it is so, and the historical maximum of the last years occurred in 2017, perhaps the year that could mean
a peak or the stability of a maximum in Rents, where
54% of the contracts completed were because they had
come to an end.

Evolution of income repercussion
€ /sqt /mont h
16
14
12
10
8

This has been the only year where it has exceeded 50%.
Even so, stands out that hardly 50% is exceeded in a so
adverse environment of the rental market in terms of Offer and Rent. The analysis that must be done linked to
this data is to know if people leave either because they
have bought or rented another property, or because
their economic situation has changed and they can not
pay and go back to their parents’ house.

6

Following this argument we will see how this 2019 is balanced by what we said before: the emergence of significant new offer regarding the fact that many of these new
properties in the market will bebrand new and so the Rent
will be in a high range.
The following graphic shows the evolution of the Rent repercussion in each of our offices. Let’s see the evolution
of this indicators in the next months but we forecast that
it will be gradually stabilized.

SEMESTER
ST

2013

Sant Cugat

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Sant Just Desvern

Of course, the Administration must ensure that it is reflected in all means (individuals, real estate portals,
agencies, ...), not as it happens with the Energy Efficiency Certificate, which today is full of Traditional Agencies,
New Online Platforms, Individuals and RealEestate websites that directly advertise real estate without informing
of the EEC or showing “in process” perpetually.
The Administration should also make the effort to extend
the Rental Price Index to more cities especially those
in Metropolitan Areas where the pressure of the rental
market is higher and therefore, the Index is more useful

Another factor that we clearly noticed in Barcelona is that
Rental prices have already reached the top or are already
at a level where the potential growth is very low. We are
aware that we are still far away from the prices of large
European cities, but their limit is closely related to salaries
and these have a limited growth, for now.

4

2012

In this report we insist in the need to use the Rental Price Index. It is a good tool that reflects well the rental
market. Administrations should agree to encourage its
use. A simple way to do so would be being required to
show it in any kind of publicity of for rent housing in order
to compare the rent required with respect to the Índex
and so the future tenant could quickly see if a property
is above or not the index.

RENT - Prices and Rental Price Index
Amat Immobiliaris Data

On the other hand, in both Sant Just Desvern and its surroundings, and in Sant Cugat del Vallès, we have still seen
an upward trend in Rents of our rented properties this
first semester of 2018. In Sant Cugat it is more pronounced because we have rented an important project of new
housing, which have a rent above the average of resale
renting housing.

2011

Barcelona

In front of the increase of the Resignations
this year 2018, our analysis is that most of
them are due to families that bought and
delivered their property. And, secondly,
renters that go back to their family houses
due to the impossibility to face the rent.

In the following graphic it could be seen the tendency
of this year 2018 which is that the Real Rent is below the
Superior Index and closer to the main Index.
In 90% of the cases where the Real Rent is above the
Superior index, it is new real estate that we have rented.

SALE - Global results and offer
Dades d’Amat Immobiliaris
In general the sales market is active. This first semester
we have sold more than in the same period of the previous
year for the third consecutive year. We have grown in number of Operations (12%) and in Volume (2%). As we had anticipated, growth has been more moderate than in previous
years. In our case we believe that the difference in growth
between Operations and Volume has three main explanations. On one hand, every time we market in areas further
away from what was our most natural market; the average
marketing price is lower and, on the other hand, in the city of

Barcelona, ​​where the average price is considerably higher,
we have not yet noticed a clear recovery of foreign demand,
which is what in our case it was investing in real estate of
superior price. And, finally, that local demand is very clear
about the absolute price limit it can reach, and it is less than
what we were used to.
In terms of offer we continue with the trend of 2017. We
could say that the new works are quite normalized in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona,
​​
​​although the city itself is very
different from its surroundings. And Resale properties are in a
medium-low level of offer, perhaps a little better than in 2017,
but still very fragmented in many agencies and individuals.

Sale number

Sale volume

200

70

180

60

160

Millons/€

140

50

120

40

100
30

80
60

20

40

10

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2013

2018

SALE – Resale prices
Amat Immobiliaris Data
In the following graphic appears the evolution of impact
of resale sales of our offices for each semester.
In Barcelona the trend is slightly upwards. With respect to
the same period of the previous year, the average impact
has been 5% higher, and in relation to the whole 2017, 6%.
In the around of the € 400,000 absolute average price is
where there is more market activity and where real estate
is sold more quickly.
In Barcelona city there may be variations due to the properties since the commercialized properties are quite different
and in very different areas from each other. In other Amat
Immobiliaris offices, the commercialized properties are
much more consistent from one quarter to another.

2015

2016

2017

2018

semester rather weak, but the second semester has been
recovering. In terms of impact, this first semester has been,
on average, 16% higher than the same period of the previous year and in all 2017.
One of the most active markets of Sant Cugat, which is not
reflected in these data and of which we are specialists, is the
market of plots for family housing construction. It is really difficult to establish an average price and make a comparison
since each location and the characteristics of the plot influence the price. But one thing we do have clear, this 2018 has
been a leap forward in the marketing of this type of product.
In Sant Just Desvern and outskirts the trend is upwards,
more moderately than in Sant Cugat, but upwards. The
average impact of the first semester of 2018 with respect
to 2017, has grown by 3%. Probably, it has been the most
consistent and active market in all the areas where we
work during this first semester of 2018, both in Resale Properties and in New Construction.

ST

In Sant Cugat del Vallès the trend is clearly upwards. In
Sant Cugat this 2018 is been hard to start being the first

2014

SEMESTER

20

Impact evolution average

BCN

8000

STC

STJ

7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000

€/sqt

1T

2T
3T
2013

4T

1T

2T
3T
2014

4T

1T

2T
3T
2015

4T

1T

2T
3T
2016

4T

1T

2T
3T
2017

4T

1T

2T
2018

5

R

EN

TE

D

NEW CONSTRUCTION
Amat Immobiliaris Data
By 2018, the cycles of the first important projects that
began after the crisis are beginning to break down. This
is an important fact because is needed to turn the wheel
to start other projects.

R

EN

TE

D

It should be noted that the deliveries carried out this 2018
have been successful and almost all buyers have been
able to complete purchases, which indicates job stability
and access to financing. It should be pointed out that, at
the moment, the projects delivered still have a significant
percentage of buyers with a significant level of savings and
that the need for financing is lower than what was usual in
the real estate sector.

Delivery of keys
of the promotion
Dalt La Vila (Badalona)

In general, the market is still active, although there are
some places where is more difficult to sell a specific property. The main axes of this semester in the New Construction would be the following:
The radius where projects start in relation to the city of
Barcelona continues to be expanded. Betting for areas with
more demand but further away from the city is increasing.

ST

SEMESTER

In areas close to Barcelona and well connected to the city,​​
where new construction has been commercialized in an important way more than two years ago, construction projects
have continuity and continue to function.

6

The buyer profile comes from rent and continues to predominate. This is a first access to housing with an average
of 40 years old and mostly local.
In Barcelona city we started to market some new projects in the city outskirts in a moderated prices where the
main buyer is local, contrary to what happens in other
neighbourhoods and city projects.
The average repercussions have remained stable or have
grown by 3% in the first semester of 2018 compared to 2017
within the same project, a much more moderate behaviour
than the previous year.
More moderate sales rhythms. From 8-10 flats per month
in 2017, to 5-7 flats per month this 2018, on average.

The rest of the year we wait a similar
rhythm that is more restrained than
last 2 years but even though high.

AMAT LUXURY
Amat Immobiliaris Data
In general, the Alt standing market is the most stable. The
last bad quarter we had in Barcelona in 2017 has not yet fully
recovered, at least we have not found a continuity. There are
moments when everything seems to speed again, but after a
while it loosens once again.
In areas such as Sant just Desvern, its surroundings and
Sant Cugat del Vallés, the number of operations made
has been stable in comparison with 2017. Basically, it is
a in need of reform family housing sales market. As we
already said, Sant Cugat del Vallés is one of the most attractive plot markets. In this case buyers build their own
house instead of reform an existing one. In this case, the
location of the plot is a key factor.
The Alt Standing rental market is still active, the number of
operations have been similar, but in this segment we notice
a rent increase compared to last year.
As we said before, Barcelona city doesn’t has not just started, the continuity of the foreign investor has not just been
consolidated and the buildings of more central neighborhoods are mainly intended for this public. The price factor is
being one of the great barriers for the local buyer.

In summary, the real estate market is
in good health, but special care must be
taken by all its stakeholders to ensure
that good health continues!